Flavoursome Links From Holyrood PR

ROCKY ROOK (Aimee)

Last night I was introduced to the world of one of the most unlikely sports I could have dreamt up-chessboxing. Branded by the World Chess Boxing Organisation as the ultimate challenge for both the mind and the body, fighters battle it out through alternating four-minute long rounds of chess and three-minute boxing rounds with a one-minute break in between. 11 rounds are fought in total-six rounds of chess and five rounds of boxing. The challenge begins with a round of chess, so they start fairly level headed as an instant smack to the puss probably wouldn’t be a good way to begin the complicated board game.

HP SAUCE AND THE SECRET RECIPE FOR SUCCESS (Scott)

Hopefully you’ve noticed this blog – where we share our Holyrood Five list of favourite web links every day – is called HP Sauce. That’s ‘HP’ as in Holyrood Partnership and ‘sauce’ as in a wee bit of tasty gossip, news or information. Obviously it’s also a nod to the Great British institution – brown sauce – which is a favoured accompaniment for meals, from bangers and mash to fish and chips. So imagine our surprise to hear the secret recipe for HP Sauces has been changed for the first time in 116 years – to reduce the salt content. The news has already angered fans, including Michelin-starred chef, Marco Pierre White.

Whatever your view on the new taste, rest assured we won’t be tampering with the ingredients of our own HP Sauce any time soon.

CROCUSES COULD BE A CURE FOR CANCER (Paddy)

Experiments involving mice have shown that the chemical called colchicine found in the British Autumn crocus was able to slow different types of cancers from growing and could even kill them. The chemical works by cutting off the blood supply to the tumour, which basically prevents it from living. However, colchicine is said to be toxic and its uses in medicine are currently restricted. Although, this seems serious, many of the scientists carrying out the research would recommend its use to treat patients. This is because the chemical can be contained around the tumour, therefore causing no other damage to the rest of the body. Also, remarkably, half the mice treated were cured of their cancer encouraging scientists to become very optimistic for the future of the native British Crocus.

DIAPER ON THE ROOF (Laura)

Ever wondered what happens to the three billion disposable diapers once they’ve been thrown away? Well take a look up above, because chances are the tiles on your roof could have been made from these old nappies. A plant dedicated to turning diapers into roof tiles has opened in West Bromwich and is the first of four plants planned for the UK, which will transform over 36,000 tonnes of nappies, feminine hygiene and incontinence pads into much more useful household items, such as roof tiles, commercial tubes and other plastic based products. It’s going to be smelly work for the unfortunate staff members who have to collect and sort the waste, but it will be worth it knowing that the good work they doo doo here (sorry couldn’t help it!) will reduce more than 22,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year – great stuff!

THE SOUNDS OF SCIENCE (Adrian)

This has to be one of my favourite ongoing memes – the fantastic Symphony of Science project. It’s been going for a couple of years now and involves a range of funky remixes using quotes from some of the world’s most prominent scientists about the biggest scientific issues.

Figures like Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, Dr Brian Cox, Sir David Attenborough and Richard Dawkins have all had their auto-tuned vocals featured on Symphony of Science songs. And the latest offering is a take on Quantum Physics. Great stuff.